RALEIGH, N.C. – Senior Cydney Ross earned her first ACC Outdoor Championship gold medal in the 800 meters at the 2013 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 20. The St. Louis, Mo., native, who also won the event at the ACC Indoor Championships, finished the race in 2:06.10 and used her kick to surge past the competition in the last 150 meters. Freshman Anima Banks finished third in the event clocking a time of 2:07.44.

“It was tough out there,” commented Cydney Ross. “I went out with the pack and we got through 600 and there was a lot of elbows being thrown and josteling. I got a little nervous because that was when I was going to make my move and there was no space to move. So I had to push my way through and push around and sprint as hard as I could to the line. It worked out fine for me which is aweome. I am overall just exstatic. It is one thing to win ACC Indoors but then to do it again in ACC Outdoors is so exciting. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my last ACC Championship at Duke.”

In the team standings, the women’s team finished in a tie for fourth place with 76 points while the men finished fifth with 66 points. Both team solidified their final standing with school record-breaking performances in the final event of the evening, the 4x400 relay.

In the women’s 4x400, the team of Ross and sophomores Lauren Hansson, Elizabeth Kerpon and Alexis Roper finished second in the field with a time of 3:37.75. In the men’s race, the team of senior Marcus Wright, freshman Michal Filipczak, junior Ben Raskin and redshirt junior Curtis Beach finished third and broke the school record by crossing the in3:12.78. More importantly, the men’s team were able to outrun a strong Virginia team to secure their fifth place overall team standing.

“We knew going into the men’s 4x400 that we had a two point lead over Virginia,” commented Director of Track and Field Norm Ogilvie. “So we had a pretty simple goal of ‘beat Virginia’ and we knew we would hold on to fifth. Last year we finished sixth so the fifth place finish gives us our highest finish in a twelve team ACC. The guys went after and got it done. We had to run a school record to do it but we did hold off Virginia and got the fifth place finish. Obviously this finis was earned by more than just the 4x400.”

In another relay, the women’s 4x100 relay team sprinted its way into third place in the event, earning the bronze medal. The team of senior LaCresha Styles, Hansson, Kerpon and sophomore Baily Murphy broke the school record for the third time this season clocking a time of 45.72.

Kerpon also ran in the women’s 400 final and was able to surge in the last several meters to finish fifth overall with a personal-best time of 54.18. Redshirt junior Curtis Beach competed in the men’s division, also finishing fifth in 46.78. Beach competed in three 400’s over the weekend, running sub-47 in each race.

Redshirt senior James Kostelnik ran in his final ACC Championship event of his career, finishing fourth in the men’s 5,000 meters by crossing the line in 14:02.80. Sophomore Shaun Thompson finished eighth in the event using a burst of energy in the final half mile to pass multiple competitors and earn a personal record mark of 14:13.11.

In the 1,500m, sophomore Nate McClafferty used a surge in the last 250 meters to finish in sixth place overall with a personal record time of 3:46.06. This mark was his second personal record in as many days. Junior Jessie Rubin competed in the women’s division, finishing in seventh place with a personal record of 4:27.32.

In the men’s 800, freshman Michal Filipczak finished fifth in his first ACC final by crossing the line in 1:49.95, nearly breaking his personal-best that was set at the Duke Invitational.

In the field events, junior Justin Amezquita finished fourth in the men’s pole vault by clearing 16-0.75 (4.90).

In the men’s hammer throw, freshman Michael Foley finished fourth with a mark of 174-2 (53.10). The mark turned out to be the only legal mark for the Paradise Valley, Ariz., native, who fouled five out six attempts. In the women’s division redshirt junior Michelle Anumba finished fifth with her best throw measuring 178-9 (54.49).

In total the Blue Devils collected five All- ACC honors including Ross in the women’s 800, Mike Moverman in the men’s 10,000, Austin Gamble in the men’s discus, Karli Johonnot in the women’s heptathlon, Anumba in the women’s shot put, Stephen Boals in the men’s shot put. The Blue Devils also broke school records in the women’s 4x400, women’s 4x100, men’s 4x400 and in the men’s 400.

“We got four school records on the weekend with three on the women’s side and one on the men’s. We had a lot of gutsy performances and a lot of people going to the well a bunch of times. We are really pleased.”

Next up, the Blue Devils will head to the Penn Relays April 25-27 in Philadelphia, Pa. A full recap will be available at www.GoDuke.com.